Addicted to Russian Gas

By

Borut Grgic

Updated Oct. 19, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

Nine months after the Ukrainian-Russian gas dispute, Europe's energy debate remains in flux. Moscow's use of its natural resources as a political weapon has made the Old Continent rather jittery. But Europe's leaders can't agree on how to reduce their increasing energy dependency on Russia. Tomorrow, they'll meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to hammer out a policy.

Russia has been particularly willing to flex its energy muscles in its immediate neighborhood. The Kremlin is nervous about the deepening of ties...